


Yes Ma'am

by miss_maraudeur



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 15:25:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6200542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_maraudeur/pseuds/miss_maraudeur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This one-shot comes from a prompt I got on Tumblr.</p>
<p>Carm and Laura meet for the first time at a random gig in New York.</p>
<p>AU in which no one is supernatural and in which Carmilla isn't in the band.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yes Ma'am

**Author's Note:**

> So a while back I asked people to send me prompts on tumblr to help me clear my head during exams. In the wake of The 100, I think we all need some cute lovin'.   
> This is just a one-shot, but it helped me loads to find the character's voice again. Next step: WTWGU, promise :-)
> 
> Hope you enjoy this.
> 
> And I dedicate it to Monroymonserrat who was the user who sent it to me. Thank you!

The room was bustling with energy and so was she. The lights were faded, there was some music playing in the background- barely audible through the barrier of noise coming from the crowd- and it was hot as hell. Laura was almost completely pressed against the person in front of her, the pressure from behind her growing with each passing minute, but she didn’t even care. She’d been waiting for this moment for _months_ and she was damned if she was going to let a bit of pushing ruin the night for her. So what if she was sweating profusely? So what if her hair was matted and pressed to her forehead? So what, indeed. Laura genuinely didn’t care.

 

She’d always loved concerts. Even as a teen, back when her dad was ridiculously overprotective and insisted on accompanying her, Laura had _still_ loved concerts. From the gritty, sweaty dance floors to the highly intoxicated kids falling all over, she’d loved them, occasional distortion sounds and vomit smells included.  

 

They were unique, that was the thing. Every single concert had its charm, its distinctiveness, its little thing that set it apart from every other. And Laura had always loved uniqueness. She’d always loved the quirks of things, the details in the big picture. It was probably why she’d wanted to go into journalism and why she was so good at it.

 

But this wasn’t a work thing. Laura wasn’t here to write some review or judge the New York cultural scene. She was here on her own accord, of her own free will because she actually absolutely _adored_ the band. Problem was, she was kind of alone. At least in her group of friends.

 

Lafontaine thought she was a bit crazy, to be honest, they had an elaborate mind control theory actually, something about subliminal sounds in the band’s music. Laura didn’t really get their point. Kirsch respected her opinion, but didn’t really “dig” the group’s mellow sound. Perry was also respectful, but apart from rap and classical, her love of music was limited. Danny didn’t like them either, but she’d volunteered to come to the gig with Laura anyway so she wouldn’t have to go alone. After years of her father forcing his presence though, Laura had declined. She didn’t need anyone else with her to enjoy the show.

 

And so she was alone standing in the middle of a vast crowd, grinning like a fool with no care in the world because one of her favourite band was about to come on stage. She really, _really,_ couldn’t wait. The opening acts had been good, they _had_ , but it wasn’t the same, it never was.

 

So when the lights flickered off completely, the background music stopped, replaced by a low vibrating beat erupting from the nearby speakers, Laura’s grin grew tenfold. The crowd screamed loudly and so did she, her vocal chords burning and her heart drumming fast. From the back of the stage, a sign lit up, made of dirty old light bulbs; _Yes Ma’am_. Laura’s smile was out of control.

 

They walked out onto the stage only seconds later, Will Luce with his dark hair and elusive smile and Matska “Mattie” Belmonde, her air of grandeur, her perfectly satisfied smirk firmly planted on her red lips. They settled behind their instruments, both keyboards with other things Laura didn’t know. Will wiggled his eyebrows at the crowd, winked at a group of girls a little to Laura’s left who shrieked in response, cracked his fingers and then started to play. Mattie looked at him, waiting for her cue, and then began.

 

The sounds filled the room instantly, the beat picking up, the melody kicking in. Laura was almost in a trance, her head bobbing along the music. She almost wanted to close her eyes and completely lose herself, but then Mattie began to sing and Laura didn’t want to look anywhere else. She had such a lovely voice, warm and low and wonderful. Then Will began to harmonize and Laura’s heart filled with love. Those two together were so in sync, it was amazing. There was something about their chemistry that was just magical. If Laura recalled correctly, they were foster siblings and maybe that was why they completed each other so well.

 

The first song ended and the second began straight away. The crowd danced and sang all the way from the mezzanines on each side of the building. Laura could barely take it all in. It was such a gorgeous picture, minimalist lighting and the stage framed by some old and thick red theatre curtains. Mattie and Will, seemingly lost in their own music, both grinning as they sang.

 

The song concluded and the band greeted the eager fans. Laura listened, enraptured. Then another song began and so the concert continued, every note and every lyric making her heart drum in happiness. She couldn’t take her eyes away from the spectacle, as simple as it was. She was truly captivated.

 

That is until she heard an annoyed voice somewhere to her left and felt the crowd pushing forward even more. Laura turned around and soon found the source of the commotion. Not very far from her and standing just in front of the giggling group of girls Will had winked to at the beginning of the concert stood another girl dressed all in black with an expansive looking camera around her neck. She had dark hair and pale skin and she was, even if she seemed completely pissed off, absolutely gorgeous.

 

“Listen you _dimwits_ , I’m part of the _staff_ ,” the girl was saying to the group, showing off a bright coloured bracelet around her wrist. “I stay around here for one song, I take a few pictures and I get out of your hair. So you can _stop_ pushing me and let me do my _job_.”

“No _you_ listen, _lady_ ,” one of the teenager said haughtily. “We don’t care about you or your job. All _we_ care about is that you’re blocking us so you can like fuck off.”

 

Even from where she stood, Laura saw very clearly the dark haired girl’s jaw clench.

 

“What did you fucking say to me?!” she spat and Laura could tell that she was losing the very small amount of patience she had.

“Look, you’re ruining the song! Just fuck of already!” another teenager spat.

 

If Laura had thought the girl looked angry before, it was nothing in comparison to how she looked now. There was a vein on the side of her head that looked about ready to pop and her jaw was clenched so tight that she looked even paler.

 

The black haired girl opened her mouth to answer and seemed to move forward and before Laura had any time to doubt herself, she extended her arm and grabbed hold of the other girl’s.

 

“Hey,” she said, a small second before the brunette turned around to glare at her.

 

Laura almost faltered. _Almost_.

 

“You can come over here to take your pictures if you want,” the small girl explained nervously. "The view’s not bad, I think, and I won’t bother you, promise.”

 

The girl looked at her with slight confusion at first and then Laura’s offer seemed to hit her. She sent one last glare at the group of teenagers before moving towards Laura.

 

“Thanks,” she muttered, her words still laced with fury.

“Sure thing,” the small girl mumbled back, still nervous as the girl settled herself in front of her and grabbed her camera.

 

She began taking pictures without another word. She lined her shots, her brows furrowed in concentration, readjusting here and there. She worked throughout the song, her complete attention on the band and on her pictures. Sometimes, between series, she’d check her camera’s screen, shaking her head and grimacing at times, nodding in satisfaction at others.

 

All in all, it barely lasted two minutes before the song was over. The girl let her camera hang again and turned to Laura for the first time since coming over.

 

“Thanks again, cutie,” she said with a very faint smile, before turning on her heels and walking away.

 

It was only when she’d left that Laura realised that she hadn’t paid attention to the band at all for the duration of that one song.

 

****

 

The rest of the concert went by quickly and before Laura knew it, it was over. _Yes Ma’am_ had continued to be as perfect as they’d been at the beginning of their set, but Laura’s attention hadn’t been quite as good. After the photographer had left, the small girl had found herself turning around from time to time to see if she could spot her. They’d barely exchanged two words and Laura doubted the other girl had even registered what she looked like, but she couldn’t quite help herself. There had been something captivating in the way the girl’s dark hair had framed her face and in the way she looked so focused and entranced by her work. Or perhaps it had just been her face in general.

 

“You big stupid lesbian,” Laura whined to herself as she made her way towards the exit.

 

She was such an idiot. Sure, the girl had been ridiculously beautiful, but Laura had let herself be distracted from the show. She was regretting that now. She didn’t even know when _Yes Ma’am_ would play in New York again and after waiting to see them for so long, she should have paid better attention.

 

God she was so stupid! It didn’t help either that Laura was fairly convinced that she’d never see the other girl again. She hadn’t even gotten a name.

 

Still grumbling at her own idiocy, Laura had just walked out of the venue when she was proven wrong.

 

“Hey, cupcake, wait up!” a familiar voice called out from behind her.

 

Eyes widening in surprise, Laura stopped and turned around only to be struck right away by the sight of the gorgeous photographer jogging towards her. Laura stood still, feeling slightly incredulous.

 

“Hey,” the girl said with a small smile when she finally reached Laura.

“Hey,” Laura replied, her eyes still wide and full of surprise.

“I wanted to thank you again for earlier,” the photographer explained. “I think you might have saved me a bruised knuckle and a shit ton of trouble,” she finished with a chuckle.

 

Laura chuckled along, her heart fluttering at the deepness of the other girl’s voice.

 

“Right, of course!” Laura answered, almost grimacing at how squeaky her voice was in comparison. “Those girls weren’t being very nice, I just figured I’d help. My view was better anyway!”

“It _definitely_ was,” the girl trailed off with a smirk forming on her lips and her eyes slowly travelling down Laura’s body. 

 

Heat jumped to Laura’s cheeks automatically and she opened her mouth to answer but nothing came. The other girl’s smirk grew a little before she seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts.

 

“Anyway, I really just wanted to say thank you again and give you this,” she said, taking a plastic pouch on a lanyard from her pocket and handing it to the smaller girl.

 

Laura frowned as she looked at thing, her eyebrows shooting up, her eyes widening and her mouth falling open when she realised what it was.

 

“Holy hufflepuff! Is that a VIP pass?!” she exclaimed, still shocked.

“Yeah,” the other girl answered with a chuckle. “It’ll get you backstage to meet the band, if that’s something you’d like.”

“Oh my god, of _course_ I’d like that! How did you even get this?!” she asked, finally detaching her eyes from the pass to look at the brunette.

 

The girl shrugged.

 

“Let’s just say I’ve got good contacts with the band…”

“Wow…” Laura muttered, her eyes back on the pass. “I don’t know what to say! I barely even did anything! I don’t deserve this!”

“Just take it, creampuff,” the girl assured. “It’s no big deal. I really am grateful.”

“I just… I don’t know how to thank you! Wow...” Laura mumbled, her eyes glued on the pass, the letters “VIP” almost shinning like a beacon in her eyes.

 

The girl chuckled again and Laura realised how rude she was being.

 

“Sorry,” she said, a blush blooming on her cheeks.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” the girl shot back. “Anyhow, I’m glad you’re happy…”

 

Laura nodded and the girl stood silent, her hands in her pockets. They stared at each other for a beat or two before the girl cleared her throat awkwardly.

 

“Anyway, I hope you have a good time and that the band won’t be shitheads, they sometimes are,” she said with a casual shrug.

 

Laura opened her mouth to ask the girl how it was that she seemed so familiar with the band but then another thought registered.

 

“Wait, you’re not coming backstage too?” she asked her brows furrowing in confusion.

“No, whose pass did you think I gave you just now?” the brunette asked clearly amused.

“Oh! But I can’t take it! I can’t take it from you!”

“Don’t worry about it,” the girl instantly reassured. “I wasn’t going to use it. I got the pictures I needed during the concert and meet and greets aren’t really in my line of interest if I don’t have to photograph them.”

“Oh… okay then…” Laura answered slowly.

 

They stood, facing each other in silence again for a few seconds before the girl spoke up again.

 

“Right, well… I guess I’ll see you around, cupcake,” she said with a tight smile and turned to leave.

 

From the way she’d said the words and the way she’d smiled, it was clear to Laura that the girl knew just as much as she did that there were very slim chances of them ever running into each other again in a city as big as New York.

 

As she looked at the girl walk away, Laura felt her stomach churn. She looked at the VIP pass in her hand and then up again at the girl’s retreating back. She really _did_ love the band and the journalist in her was _dying_ to go backstage and get to meet them, but there was something about the image of that girl walking away from her that Laura just couldn’t take.

 

“How’s your stomach!?” she yelled before she had too much time to think, her feet moving fast to catch up to the girl.

“Sorry, what?” the girl answered once she’d turned around to find a slightly panting Laura in front of her.

“I uh…” Laura began, blushing again. “How is… uh… your stomach? By which I mean… would you maybe, possibly want to grab something to eat? Like… maybe now? I mean… I could eat… Or have coffee… Or maybe a drink? Maybe it’s a bit late for coffee…” she explained quickly, her hands moving awkwardly to her words, her cheeks reddening the longer her ramble carried on.

 

She stopped speaking eventually though and looked up at the other girl half afraid to see her reaction. As it was though the girl seemed to be smiling.

 

“What about the backstage access? I thought you wanted to go,” the girl asked.

“Yeah,” Laura answered trying to shrug casually. “But uh, I’m actually… _really_ hungry so, you know… I’d rather… do… that…” she finished lamely.

 

What she had really wanted to say was “I’d rather get to know you” but she hadn’t had the courage to been this blunt. Maybe it was her lucky night though because the girl only laughed lightly in response.

 

“I’m Laura, by the way,” the small girl provided before the brunette had added anything else.

“Nice to meet you, cutie,” the girl answered with a pleased smirk. “And… sure, a bite would be good, I guess.”

 

Laura beamed in answer, biting her bottom lip for a second to try to control her excitement.

 

“Great!” she shot out regardless.

 

The girl gave her a soft smile at that.

 

“Shall we?” she asked and Laura nodded readily.

 

They’d been walking for barely a second when Laura caught the girl’s eyes on her. She blushed heavily and the girl smirked. And then it hit her.

 

“Hey, so… can I… ask your name?” she said nervously.

“Carmilla. My name’s Carmilla,” she answered right away and Laura’s heart fluttered.

 

_Carmilla_ , she repeated in her head as she felt excited butterflies rummage inside her stomach. Yeah, tonight was probably her lucky night.

 

Whoever had ever said that going to concerts alone was lame was most definitely an idiot and had never met a Carmilla, Laura felt pretty sure.

 

 

 


End file.
